Columbia cancels its main graduation ceremony
Another reward for the pro-Gaza crowd:
A university official tells Fox News that security concerns in the wake of recent anti-Israel protests on campus was one of the main reasons in deciding to cancel the larger event.
“Our Deans and other colleagues who work directly with our students have been discussing plans with student leaders, and, most importantly, listening. Based on their feedback, we have decided to make the centerpiece of our Commencement activities our Class Days and school-level ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers, rather than the University-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15,” Columbia said in a statement.
Providing security must be a tremendous expense at this point.
I saw an interview somewhere with a graduating student – not even sure it was at Columbia, but it was at some school that was either considering a graduation cancellation or had already announced one – in which she pointed out that the class of 2024 was the same cohort that had lost out on high school graduations four years ago because of COVID.
Columbia’s enrollment is 38,000. No need for a general commencement. Have Columbia College one day, Barnard another, the engineering school another, the business school another, the medical school another.
Art Deco:
It’s not really about NEED. There’s never any need for any graduation ceremony. But it’s traditional, and it means something to people to have a large one – plus this represents giving in to demonstrators’ pressure.
Having no spine leads to consequences.
They could close the school and fire all the staff, if they really wanted to improve security.
In a bit of hopeful news, at my former college, late last week a majority of the faculty issued a statement in solidarity with the Palestinian protestors. They even used the Nazi phrase “Jewish supremacy ”
The reaction has been universal condemnation from parents and alums. A Jewish prof issued a rebuttal and has received unanimous support in comments. One mother wrote that it’s great to finally see who all the antisemites are on the faculty and her daughter can avoid them.
I hope all the Jewish students withdraw.
These dhimmis are going to fully deserve what awaits them.
Yes. Btw jews taught me krav maga. I got beat up a lot at the Lawrence Family Community Center in San Diego. I’m not going to suggest I liked it. But I learned a lot. Oy vey they taught me krav maga
One thing they taught me was not to do a spinning round kick unless you can do a spinning round kick
I lived. Barely
I don’t do spinning round kicks anymore. Like I could at my age.
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1787636473128165387
A collection of faculty at Connecticut College have issued an asinine statement similar to the one physicsguy describes. A school with the enrollment of Connecticut College would (on average) have about 135 teaching faculty (FTE) and shy of 200 actual instructors. About 90 people signed that statement of whom north of 80% were regular faculty and around 5% were adjunct instructors, so you’re looking at north of 40% of their teaching faculty. Your tuition dollars at work.
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Amply represented on the list were the victimology programs, the performing and studio arts, the peripheral humanities (foreign literatures, art history), and non-quantitative social research. About five of 18 English professors signed it. Biology, physics, and economics were represented on the list; with one or two exceptions, those signers are foreign born. Faculty hired prior to 2002 are few (about 4 of the 73 regular faculty who signed, with none hired prior to 1994). The number of art faculty who signed this travesty is what amazes.
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No consequential administrators put their name on this. Not the president, not the provost, no the dean of students, not the comptroller, not the plant manager, not the personnel director.
Amazing interview of a janitor who was caught in Hamilton Hall during the mob invasion:
https://www.thefp.com/p/exclusive-columbia-custodian-trapped
Art Deco:
Time for them to learn to code. And then learn that that ship done sailed.
Well, Art if you were trying to “out” me, then it worked. Yes, Conn is my former employer, and I’ve tried to keep that quiet due to friends I still have there. Yes, and all of them hired before 1994. Guilt by association is a tool used by the 80% you mentioned, and those people would be very happy to take that knife to my colleagues. A quick search on the school’s website will reveal my actual identity. I’d appreciate it if Neo’s followers would still abide by my wishes for partial anonymity. After all, very few here use their given names also.
You seem well-acquainted with the school??
It’s not just small colleges in northeastern states. I look at my (western) alma mater’s monthly mailings just to see how awful they’re becoming. The most recent one was “woke” propaganda from start to finish — and they’re proud of it! We haven’t donated in many years.
it does seem like the pursuit of truth, has been exchanged for mind arson, its rather striking how pervasive it has been, across the disciplines, across the oceans,
Somewhere this morning I saw the snide but probably correct idea that cancelling commencements at these leftist institutions means the graduates and families won’t be subjected to a leftist harangue from the featured speaker.
thats probably true, but it is dissapointing nonetheless, that the heckler’s veto carries forth, but this is the ‘democracy’ that all these right minded people, like maher, just to cite one example, demanded, as the price of getting rid of trump,
Well, Art if you were trying to “out” me, then it worked.
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I wasn’t, and I never checked any departmental faculty lists bar that for the English department because I was curious about the ratio there. I undertook a general search for each signatory and noted their title. I did locate two physics department faculty (one regular, one adjunct) who signed the statement. Both are foreign imports. (You had a dozen or so non-faculty who signed the statement – several librarians, a shmuck in the admissions office, a faculty wife, and some random apparatchiks).
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The statement was signed by two sorts of people: the ignorant and the malevolent. We shouldn’t have much patience with either.
You seem well-acquainted with the school??
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Nope. However, schools like Connecticut College remind one of Margaret Mead’s comment: “Just remember you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”. The pathology manifest therein I think is prevalent among the professional-managerial bourgeoisie generally in our time. College faculties, alas, are collecting pools of pathological people. Some administrators placate that and some are distillations of it.
Art,
If you think Conn is bad, take a look at Wesleyan.
The English department was the first to go over to the dark side about 15 years ago. The new hires eventually drove out all the classical literature people. Similar story at other schools.
Background on the physics chair who signed the statement: he was a student in the department mid 90s. Came over from Senegal with almost zero money, and was a semi-pro soccer player. Was “discovered” at a pickup game by Conn’s soccer coach and was given a full ride. He was a top student, I had him in several classes. Went to Brown, then to MIT Lincoln Labs, and after getting citizenship, was doing DoD research. Came back to Conn as a faculty, but still does research at Lincoln. He has been very antiwoke, and not at all in favor of DEI admissions. The American black students would get frustrated with him as he wouldn’t bend over backwards for them. I guess his Muslim upbringing trumped his common sense in this case. I also thought he would have had more regard for the long time orthodox Jew in the department. The other signatory from the department is a brand new hire; I know nothing about him.
its deader than king tut
https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1787826590300160391